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jsut shaved a bit ago but no not with the tuna sword and to DCs disgust it was a cpm154 blade SS blades tend to need a bit more angle on them as the carbide upll out can be a problem (cant wait to test a few other PM SS s )
the cpm154 needs a bit of stropping to get it smooth (its sharp and aggressive when jsut off even the 16K hones ) once smooth tho its good to go for a long while withi out touch ups and i dont even have to dry it off after i use it

May want to go up a step on the hone (evil chuckle) or have you considered naturals? I was not crazy about shaving off the 16k GS I had, funny as I was shaving for a year off a norton 4/8k After I got the asagi I bought from Mark a while back I find I can shave off the stone well enough, I forgot to strop it lol, but after stropping WOW what a difference that stone made for me

OK, I have been curious about using straights for a good while, and you guys are pushing me down that slope........
So what should someone look for as an introductory implement in this endeavor? I took a look at ebay and thought about how badly I could screw up buying something that I knew little about. I saw a Simmonds Hardware one that was very obviously ground to hell and thought maybe I should seek guidance from experts!

Spike C
"The Buddha resides as comfortably in the circuits of a digital computer or the gears of a cycle transmission as he does at the top of a mountain."
Pirsig

jsut go down to the store nad find one thats not ground to hell or has the edge all chipped up (i see them with crap scales for 12-20 bucks often )
they can be many different grinds from wedge to full hollow but all that matters is that they are not honed badly (unevenly) and that they are the older ones (cheap new straights are well CHEAP)

if you want to go new hartsteel razors are made here in the US and are best bet form the entry level but are in te 275 range is i remember rigght (tho they hold there value well if you find its not for you ) there are also others in the over 150$ range that are ok too but any cheaper and you may have problems

OK, I have been curious about using straights for a good while, and you guys are pushing me down that slope........
So what should someone look for as an introductory implement in this endeavor? I took a look at ebay and thought about how badly I could screw up buying something that I knew little about. I saw a Simmonds Hardware one that was very obviously ground to hell and thought maybe I should seek guidance from experts!

NO e-bay if you are newibie with the razors. I suggest go for new basic razor, or vintage from Striaght Razor place classifieds.
The basic gear you need is
Strop, razor, brush soap/cream, after shave.
Stones to hone the razor when needed.

On SRP there are plenty of tutorials how to make a strop, how to hone a razor how to strop etc.
If you do not want to deal with making strop you can buy one online, but stay away from cheapo e-bay and amazon crap, go to Straight Razor Designs and choose one.

If you want new razor you can start with Dovo Best Quality. Vintage razors options are many many many, just make sure you are getting it from reputable place.
Be careful there is Ad associated with razors, and they can get as expensive as custom knives easy.

Brush I recommend badger hair one, there are different grades and knot lengths and what you will end up using is personal taste. Be careful there is AD associated with brushes.

Honing well here the base pool of stones is pretty similar to what you would use for knives.
The line up that gives most consistent results is
1k chosera,5k SS, 8kSS, 12kSS
then strop on CrO or .5 micron Diamond spray on felt then leather strop and that is it.
If you want to get fancy with the edges then you need a good natural finishing stone, such as Escher/Thuringian, J-nat, Charnley forrest.
Be careful there is AD associated with finishing hones for razors.

Cream/Soap there is many many kinds , I personally like Taylor of Old Bond street it is pretty cheap and easy to use the scents are great.
Be careful there is AD assciated with creams/soaps.

I would like to go with something old, if possible. Is there any difference between German and English made? and is it better to start with a wedge or some degree of hollow ground? Maybe I need to find a faq??

Spike C
"The Buddha resides as comfortably in the circuits of a digital computer or the gears of a cycle transmission as he does at the top of a mountain."
Pirsig

I would like to go with something old, if possible. Is there any difference between German and English made? and is it better to start with a wedge or some degree of hollow ground? Maybe I need to find a faq??

Vintage is good, I like the solingen and Japanese made western straights, they have harder steel than Sheffield made razors.

Grind is very subjective, I like hollows, some like wedges.
Wedges are very stiff , hollow grinds allow for flex but you can nick your self easier if you are not careful. If you know what you are doing nicks will be very rare though.
A ton of info here:http://straightrazorplace.com/srpwik...zor_Place_Wiki